Ibn Taymiyya proposes his unique epistemology by employing the concept of the fiṭra. When his statements describing the fiṭra are collected, we see that Ibn Taymiyya has presented a detailed view of ...human nature and how that nature relates to God and the universe as a whole. His fiṭra-centric theory of human nature can be usefully compared to other theories, not only within the Islamic tradition but also in theories of the self found in other religions or even contemporary scientific theories. As of yet, Ibn Taymiyya’s work has not been studied through the lens of Cognitive Science of Religion (CSR). Ibn Taymiyya is an ideal candidate for applying CSR research to Islamic thought in order to reach broader insights about theories of human nature within the Islamic scholarly tradition. CSR findings are relevant to Ibn Taymiyya’s work specifically because Ibn Taymiyya claims that certain human emotions, intuitions, and behaviors are inborn and universal. By applying CSR, we can conclude that some aspects of Ibn Taymiyya’s theological perspective are grounded in deeper and more universal features of human cognition that are not specific to the particularities of his biases, his milieu, political pressures of his time, etc.
Cis-3-O-p-hydroxycinnamoyl ursolic acid (HCUA), a triterpenoid compound, was purified from Elaeagnus oldhamii Maxim. This traditional medicinal plant has been used for treating rheumatoid arthritis ...and lung disorders as well as for its anti-inflammation and anticancer activities. This study aimed to investigate the anti-proliferative and apoptotic-inducing activities of HCUA in oral cancer cells. HCUA exhibited anti-proliferative activity in oral cancer cell lines (Ca9-22 and SAS cells), but not in normal oral fibroblasts. The inhibitory concentration of HCUA that resulted in 50% viability was 24.0 μM and 17.8 μM for Ca9-22 and SAS cells, respectively. Moreover, HCUA increased the number of cells in the sub-G1 arrest phase and apoptosis in a concentration-dependent manner in both oral cancer cell lines, but not in normal oral fibroblasts. Importantly, HCUA induced p53-mediated transcriptional regulation of pro-apoptotic proteins (Bax, Bak, Bim, Noxa, and PUMA), which are associated with mitochondrial apoptosis in oral cancer cells via the loss of mitochondrial membrane potential. HCUA triggered the production of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) that was ascertained to be involved in HCUA-induced apoptosis by the ROS inhibitors YCG063 and N-acetyl-L-cysteine. As a result, HCUA had potential antitumor activity to oral cancer cells through eliciting ROS-dependent and p53-mediated mitochondrial apoptosis. Overall, HCUA could be applicable for the development of anticancer agents against human oral cancer.
Symmetry‐protected quasi‐bound states in the continuum (BIC) controlled by metasurfaces with broken in‐plane symmetry are widely exploited to achieve highly surface‐sensitive and spectrally sharp ...resonances for nanophotonic biosensors. Through the engineering of silicon‐based asymmetric nanobar pairs, a quasi‐BIC mode is excited showing a dominant toroidal dipole (TD) and electric quadrupole (EQ) resonant feature in the near‐infrared and performs ultrahigh sensitivity in the refractometric monitoring of local environment changes. Contrary to the typical electric and magnetic Mie‐type resonances of dielectric resonators with the enhanced field mostly inside the resonator volume, the TD‐EQ quasi‐BIC mode is found to exhibit strong and tightly confined optical fields at the surface of tilted nanobar pairs, and its refractive‐index (RI) sensitivity can be dramatically increased for nanopillars with larger aspect‐ratio. The measured (simulated) sensitivity and figure of merit for nanobar pairs with a height of 450 nm reach 608 nm/RIU and 46 (612 nm/RIU and 85), respectively. Such ultrahigh sensitive all‐dielectric platform can be fabricated through complementary metal‐oxide‐semiconductor compatible process and is promising for on‐chip integration and sensor miniaturization to a wide range of diagnostic applications.
Quasi‐bound states in the continuum modes in periodic amorphous silicon tilted nanobar pairs are found to exhibit a dominant toroidal dipole and electric quadrupole resonant property. Such higher‐order resonant mode exhibits intriguing near‐field distributions accompanied by a strong electric field tightly confined at the surface of nanobar width and results in ultrahigh refractive index sensitivity for high aspect‐ratio nanopillars.
Flows in Stenotic Vessels Berger, S. A; Jou, L-D
Annual review of fluid mechanics,
01/2000, Letnik:
32, Številka:
1
Journal Article
Recenzirano
The relationship between flow in the arteries, particularly the wall shear
stresses, and the sites where atherosclerosis develops has motivated much of
the research on arterial flow in recent ...decades. It is now well accepted that
it is sites where shear stresses are low, or change rapidly in time or space,
that are most vulnerable. These conditions are likely to prevail at places
where the vessel is curved; bifurcates; has a junction, a side branch, or other
sudden change in flow geometry; and when the flow is unsteady. These flows,
often but not always involving flow separation or secondary motions, are also
the most difficult ones in fluid mechanics to analyze or compute. In this
article we review the modeling studies and experiments on steady and unsteady,
two-and three-dimensional flows in arteries, and in arterial geometries most
relevant in the context of atherosclerosis. These include studies of normal
vessels-to identify, on the basis of the fluid mechanics, lesion
foci-and stenotic vessels, to model and measure flow in vessels after the
lesions have evolved into plaques sufficiently large to significantly modify
the flow. We also discuss recent work that elucidates many of the pathways by
which mechanical forces, primarily the wall shear stresses, are transduced to
effect changes in the arterial wall at the cellular, subcellular, and genetic
level.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
•Global and local models are used to identify key factors of public transportation usage rates.•Tobit regression model (global) and GWR model (local) are compared.•GWR model performs better because ...of its capability in accommodating spatial correlations.•Seven variables are significantly tested, and most have parameters that differ across regions.•Strategies are proposed that improve public transportation usage accordingly.
As the number of private vehicles grows worldwide, so does air pollution and traffic congestion, which typically constrain economic development. To achieve transportation sustainability and continued economic development, the dependency on private vehicles must be decreased by increasing public transportation usage. However, without knowing the key factors that affect public transportation usage, developing strategies that effectively improve public transportation usage is impossible. Therefore, this study respectively applies global and local regression models to identify the key factors of usage rates for 348 regions (township or districts) in Taiwan. The global regression model, the Tobit regression model (TRM), is used to estimate one set of parameters that are associated with explanatory variables and explain regional differences in usage rates, while the local regression model, geographically weighted regression (GWR), estimates parameters differently depending on spatial correlations among neighbouring regions. By referencing related studies, 32 potential explanatory variables in four categories, social-economic, land use, public transportation, and private transportation, are chosen. Model performance is compared in terms of mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) and spatial autocorrelation coefficient (Moran’ I). Estimation results show that the GWR model has better prediction accuracy and better accommodation of spatial autocorrelation. Seven variables are significantly tested, and most have parameters that differ across regions in Taiwan. Based on these findings, strategies are proposed that improve public transportation usage.
Considering the difficulties associated with the conventional ‘trial and error’ method for a complete analysis of a giant molecular space, we took the aid of computational pathway (DFT) in screening ...a large space search of 780 (12×13×5) molecules to search for a host for the blue emitter. The selection process was completed in three Tiers with the conditions of highest theoretical triplet energy (>2.81 eV), aligned HOMO/LUMO levels w.r.t blue dopant (FIrpic), and position of substituents to meet the optimal requirements as host materials. Tier 1 screened twelve different imidazole heterocycle derivatives as base space groups which resulted in the selection of 4,5‐diphenyl‐1H‐imidazole. Tier 2 process converged the search to mCN‐CZ having the highest triplet energy and appropriate HOMO/LUMO level relative to FIrpic and ETL. Further, the carbazole of mCN‐CZ was replaced with different aromatic hydrocarbons to find the other best compound in terms of triplet energy and HOMO/LUMO. Tier 3 resulted in another promising candidate (mCN‐FL) as possible host materials. The band alignment with guest predicted mCN‐FL and mCN‐CZ to have optimal device performances compared to CZ‐CZ and the experimentally observed device performance was in accordance with virtual screening results when TAPC was utilized as the hole transporter. The device results of mCN‐CZ and mCN‐FL were better than the reference host TCTA. The obtained results thus proved that a virtual screening process will be a useful tool for synthetic chemists in designing task‐specific materials.
The aid of DFT calculations was implemented for exploring a space search of 780 molecules. The selection process was designed to find material designs with the highest theoretical triplet energy (>2.81 eV) along with suitable HOMO/LUMO levels to accommodate the chosen blue dopant (FIrpic). The outcome of the virtual screening process and corresponding device performances have provided an adventitious outcome that will help discard poor candidates at the virtual screening step.
Background: Left-ventricular (LV) characteristic measurements are crucial for evaluating the feasibility of biventricular repair (BiVR). This study aimed to determine the threshold of LV quality on ...cardiac computed tomography (CCT) for BiVR in children with a dominant right ventricle (DRV). Methods: We retrospectively reviewed all children with a DRV who underwent either BiVR or single ventricle palliation (SVP) at our institution between 2003 and 2019 in a case-control study with healthy individuals. Measurements including LV end-diastolic volume (LVEDV, mL), LV myocardial mass (LVMM, gm), and mitral annulus area (MAA, cm2) were quantified using CCT. The factor with the highest correlation with body size was used to adjust these three measurements to derive normal references in the control group. The LV quality of patients on each CCT measurement was represented as a percentage of the normal reference data that we established. The feasible LV quality for BiVR was defined as the lowest limit of all three LV measurements in one subject who survived BiVR among our patients with DRVs. Results: The cohort comprised 30 patients and 76 healthy controls. Height was the factor with the highest correlation with all three LV measurements. Height-adjusted normal reference curves and formulas were created. The mean LV quality in surviving patients who underwent BiVR was better than that in those who underwent SVP. The lowest limits for LV quality in one survivor of BiVR were 39.1% LVEDV, 49.0% LVMM, and 44.9% MAA. During follow up, the LV quality of patients who received BiVR shifted to the normal range. Conclusions: LV quality should be at least greater than 45% of normal values to promise survival in patients with DRVs who are being considered for a BiVR.
Soil pollution occurring at mining sites has adverse impacts on soil microbial diversity. New approaches, such as metagenomics approach, have become a powerful tool to investigate biodiversity of ...soil microbial communities. In the current study, metagenomics approach was used to investigate the microbial diversity of soils contaminated with different concentrations of lead (Pb) and zinc (Zn). The contaminated soils were collected from a Pb and Zn mine. The soil total DNA was extracted and 16S rDNA genes were amplified using universal primers. The PCR amplicons were sequenced and bioinformatic analysis of metagenomes was conducted to identify prokaryotic diversity in the Pb- and Zn-contaminated soils. The results indicated that the ten most abundant bacteria in all samples were
Solirubrobacter
(Actinobacteria),
Geobacter
(Proteobacteria),
Edaphobacter
(Acidobacteria),
Pseudomonas
(Proteobacteria),
Gemmatiomonas
(Gemmatimonadetes),
Nitrosomonas
,
Xanthobacter
, and
Sphingomonas
(Proteobacteria),
Pedobacter
(Bacterioidetes), and
Ktedonobacter
(Chloroflexi), descendingly. Archaea were also numerous, and
Nitrososphaerales
which are important in the nitrogen cycle had the highest abundance in the samples. Although, alpha and beta diversity showed negative effects of Pb and Zn contamination on soil microbial communities, microbial diversity of the contaminated soils was not subjected to a significant change. This study provided valuable insights into microbial composition in heavy metals-contaminated soils.
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